Reply #34: I am disappointed in Russ's position

[lwcon]

Obama is clearly on a rightward arc, and Edwards is clearly on a leftward arc. Hillary swung to the right some time ago, but at least she's stayed put, maybe leaning back left a little now, while Obama is zooming past her to accommodate the GOP.

I don't have time to do a full inventory, but let's look at a few of Obama's rightward moves:

* Saber-rattling toward Pakistan
* Constantly conflating religion with values, and scolding liberals for disrespecting religious faith
* Actually claiming that Jesus Christ called on him to serve (if I wanted that, I'd vote for Huckabee)
* Constantly belittling the efforts of progressives in the'60s and '90s
* Constantly framing the problems in DC as being "partisanship," which is the preferred frame of the GOP and MSM to diminish the sea change signaled by the 2006 midterm election and the underlying public dissatisfaction with the corrupt, incompetent GOP
* Running an ad that's guaranteed to be fodder for Repubs if Hillary is nominated: "She’ll say anything, and change nothing."
* Repeating the GOP falsehood about a "Social Security crisis"
* Arguing that the cure for our debt-ridden economy is tax cuts
* Dismissively describing unions as "special interests"

Obama is a smart, charismatic guy who has attracted a lot of endorsements. But he certainly doesn't have mine, because as a progressive, I'm sick of him throwing me under the bus. I'm proud of fellow voters who have noticed and have gravitated away from him:

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3160

I expect he'll do well in South Carolina, but I certainly hope he's not the Dem nominee and if he is, that he'll stop pissing on his base just because he finds it expedient to do. It disempowers the party as a whole and limits how far left he'd be able to lead.

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